It's one of those rare times in life when all stars have aligned. I basically destroyed both my sails last fall, leaving me wide open for a brand-new quiver. Authorization from my beloved boss was forthcoming, so I'm looking for 2-3 new sails and whatever masts/booms they need.

I used to sail a 7.0m and a 6.5m on the 160L Techno (just got the Exocet). Over about 20 knots I felt badly overpowered. On light days in Holland I'm often happy just displacement sailing on the longboard, taking in the sights.

Right now, I'm thinking of picking up a 6.0 and a 7.0, but I could also see going maybe 5.5, 6.5 and 7.5 if that's going to vastly increase my range.

I sail in Chicago. Rather than giving you specific brand options, certain strategy will produce efficient non-redundant sails with minimal gear. You need light wind capability, and the 160 can handle a big sail. How big do you ever want to go? Sounds like you don't want a 490 mast, a 460 mast generally handles up to a 7.5 sail, get a 7.5. Check out the boom lengths of the various brands, you might be able to get one boom for the whole quiver if you choose the right sails and the boom brand that covers the spread. Next sail down is a 6.0 and will probably need a 430 mast. Next sail down after that is a 5.0. Some brands call for a 400 mast for their 5.0-- avoid if you don't want to get another mast. If you plan right, you can get 3 sails, 2 masts, 1 boom, cover from medium light wind to everything except the biggest blows on Lake Michigan. dhmark

If I had to go to only two sails, it would be a Sailworks 7.0 Retro and a Hucker 5.6. These two sails both have incredible range, and both can be rigged for tractor-like power if desired. You could add a Revolution 4.6 for those high-wind days if your budget allows. I have had very good luck rigging my Sailworks on other masts, too, although they work best on the specified mast, as do all sails.

Someone will want to point out that I'm a teamrider for Sailworks, which is true, but I would buy them anyway if I weren't, since after sailing NP for years, then Gaastra, I've never had better sails than I do right now._________________Spennie the Wind Junkie
www.WindJunkie.net

Hot Sails Maui is closing out their Liquid Model on their web site, a free ride sail perfect for your needs, whole range up to 7.5 will rig on a 430 mast. I have never used this model, have sailed and currently own many other Hot Sails, I completely trust the quality and suitability of their sails. dhmark

You should look at James Douglass sail calculator to help you out. Your weight is an important factor in deciding.

You are thinking about getting sails that are too close together in my opinion. At 210 lbs, my current quiver is 9.0, 7.5 and 6, with old smaller sails that I don't use much. Tuning your sails allows them to cover a bigger range.

It is also important to make sure your sails fit well your boards. I guess a 6.0 would be perfect for you 118, a 7.5 would fit both the 118 and the 160 and a large 9.0 or 9.5 would fit the 160. If you were to go with Ezzy, two masts (430 and 490) would be enough. I currently have 3 masts that I bought used for the price of a new one...

And a note about displacement sails. If you just want to relax, an old Dacron sail without full lenght battens is the best. They are super light and catch the slightest breezes easily. You should be able to find one free if you don't allready have one. Mine is about a 6.0.

I sail on Wolf Lake and on Lake Michigan out of Gary or Calumet. I'm 170lbs and have : 136 ;112 ;93 lt boards /converting SUP into WindSUP right now as well/ and 9.0 and 7.4 no cam freerides; 5.8 crossover and 5.0 power wave sails. I like my quiver for our conditions and would stay within +/- 0.2 max. May add a 4ish one in the future eventually .

In your last quiver, our two sails were much too close together. Even 6.0 and 7.0 is a very close for a 2 or 3-sail quiver. You can probably go 5.5 and 7.0, or 6.0 and 7.5. For my freeride/freerace sails, I'm using 5.5 - 7.0 - 8.5.

Most sails from the last few years have a big range so that even a 5.5 and 7.0 overlap a bit. You could get the 3rd sail later, either going smaller or larger depending on what wind conditions you get more often. Or for 3 sails now, go something like 4.7 - 6.0 - 7.5.

Keep in mind to match the mast(s) to the sails, though. Some sails work reasonably well with mismatched masts, others do not, but all sails will work best if the mast bend curve matches what the sail is designed for. I would not go by what someone who is selling the gear is saying about compatibility, unless it's the same brand mast and sail.

You know guys, I think if more of us give him and others with simmilar questions more info about ourselves , like our weight, level , conditions we are sailing in, our most used sails etc. etc. it will be more helpfull instead guessing around what he's needs and desires are and what he can afford. The people reading this forum are smart enough to make their own decisions. They just need exemples IMHO.

i have lots of sails. sometimes, they look very redundant. but, if one gets trashed in the impact zone, then having a back up helps a ton. won't ruin my day if i get a failure.....

if one has to get the least, perhaps one should think: storm, average and light winds. i tend to think of my charge 5.8 sail as the sail i use the most when the wx guessers are saying, "storm's acomin." the most common "storm" tends to be 16-34 or so, with lotsa variations all day. so, i end up staying on my 5.8 for longer than i ought to some days when the wx guessers are saying, "storm's here."

5.2, 6.5, and 8.5 is what i would choose if i had to stretch out my budget so. again, i don't want to do that....

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